by David P. Greisman - The boogeyman was an idea, a seed of doubt planted 11 months before, growing until it towered over him, casting darkness that he would either have to outrun or break through.

The nemesis was real, a man who had sown that seed and who now stood before him again, ready to return to digging to his body and drilling his chin.

Juan Manuel Lopez tried to dodge the darkness, tried to box Orlando Salido, tried to keep what Salido had done to him 11 months before from being done once more. But the boogeyman kept stalking. The nemesis, however, was not a mere idea but rather was real, a man who could be broken. And so Lopez confronted his demon and took his fate into his own hands.

And, in a flash, it was taken away from him. The darkness returned. The boogeyman was back.

Every fighter has his limits, a realization he never wants to reach. Every loss lingers, then, from the first moments of regret through months of self-reflection: What went wrong during the fight? What could I have done beforehand to make myself more ready, mentally and physically? What can I do better?

Lopez had 11 months to think about it and up to 12 rounds to put it into action.

He had patched together a friendship with his ex-wife, the mother of his children and his cook in camp. Gone was the personal turmoil that might have distracted before he first fought Salido. He would be mentally ready. Back was the personal chef who would help him be in the best possible shape. He would be physically ready. [Click Here To Read More]

Juanma doesnt have it anymore. He is already damaged. Eventhough he is still young the way he fought the second time you can see his speed, power, stamina wasnt there anymore and with his poor defense he will end up damaging his brain even further.

How does the poor ref feel after getting defamed in front of the boxing world by Lopez and his claims against the integrity of the ref??? This could be big news if there is a legal system in PR. Lopez could be in more trouble with the ref than worrying about his stalled career.

Juanma ate some big shots going to be hard to see him gain his confidence back... salido should unify next or defend against mikey, mikey looked composed and skilled and could avoid some of those big shots from salido... Finally hopefully Gamboa backs up his talk n steps up n fights Bam Bam

Mickey Garcia wud pick salido apart. Salido is sh¡t, he looks good against juanma cuz juanma has d¡ck for defense, all the punches on him land flush, he doesn't slip or roll with punches he just takes them. Anyway I got Mickey over salido in a shut out & late KO

In the 1st fight between Juanma & Salido the ref was Roberto Ramirez Jr(from Puerto Rico) & the fight was rightfully stopped, but Juanma complained that it was an early stoppage & was calling the ref all sorts of derogatory names & after that fight Juanma & his team tried to get the commission in Puerto Rico to overturn the outcome of the fight claiming it was prematurely stopped.. But the commission paid no mind to Juanma & his team & the decision stood.. Now in the 2nd fight the ref was Roberto Ramirez Sr(father of the ref in the 1st fight) & this was Ramirez Sr 184th title fight that he has refereed & he did a good job & kept it neutral(like all ref's should)..The fight was rightfully stopped & even thou Juanma got up all wobbly(doing the "Drunken Monk") the ref even gave Juanma the benefit of the doubt by giving a standing 8, while most ref's would have stopped it right there..Juanma now supposedly gave an apology claims he doesn't remember what he said, but now it's out in the clear that Peter Rivera(president of P.R. Best Boxing, Juanma's manager & co-promoter)admitted he was the 1 who wrote the apology for Juanma & told Juanma to say that he doesn't remember what he said, so now Ramirez Sr wants a real apology in public by Juanma himself with the press present.. & Juanma did say that Ramirez Sr & Jr like to place bets & did insinuate they had a gambling problem & also said they had placed bet's on Salido with someone from his town & that he told the commission about all that.. The commission says that Juanma nor his team ever told them about such things & that now Juanma is gonna have to show them proof of all the allegations that he's made..